Today is June 1, the official start of a HS runner's training year. (It is also National Donut Day, so after you go for a run, treat yourself to a free donut!)
A high school training year can be broken down into four major sections or seasons. Springtime is for short speed for track season, winter is for developing power, fall is for long distance cross country racing, and summer is when you put the miels and build the general strength to be able to handle it all.
Neglecting one season spells doom for the others; without a strong showing in each section, the other seasons will bring about poor results and potentially injury. It is not a pyramid, but an intertwined system that builds on each preceding season. Every day you train is important for the days following.
So, today is the beginning of the summer season, and that means long runs, lots of general strength and many form drills. We are not trying to win any races this summer, we are trying to get strength to withstand the rigors of the XC season, and be able to train hard in the winter so we can really tweak our speed in the spring. If that sounds far away, it is, so don't think about it that way (that is your coaches job, to think that far ahead). Just think about one week at a time in the summer. Focus on getting in four appetizers, six entrees and five desserts a week. Then, repeat the next week. If you take care of business one week, one day, one workout, at a time, then your fitness will take care of itself and grow stronger and stronger.
I know a lot of you were not pleased with how your season concluded. If you were disappointed with how your season ended; by not achieving your goals, by not winning a League Championship, by not making the State meet, by not racing your best at State; remember that disappointment. This is the time to start remedying that feeling, June 1 is when we start building to success in your running. When you do not want to work out on a beautiful sunny day, when you would rather be at the pool, remember that now is the time for success in the spring, a workout on June 17th is just as important as a workout on April 17th. Stay motivated anyway you can!
If you did not get a restaurant-style training program, and would still like a copy of one, just send me an email, and I will send you one electronically. Also, I would love it if all of you would post your workouts on runkeeper.com, just so I can see what y'all are doing. I admit, I have a backlog of workouts I need to get up there, but if everyone is public about what they are doing for training, then that will spur everyone to train harder and harder, which is what we want as a team!
Keep in touch, and enjoy your first workout of the 2012-2013 season!
SEP
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